First-Line Supervisors of Transportation and Material Moving Workers, Except Aircraft Cargo Handling in Kentucky
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$48,477
after federal, FICA and Kentucky tax
Tax takes
$11,613
19.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$53,584
Kentucky costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Kentucky — roughly, since only five points along the band are published.
One filer, standard deduction, no dependants and nothing paid in before tax — the same household the rest of this page uses, so the comparison holds. City and school-district income taxes are not included.
Median here
$60,090
Kept after tax
$48,477
Worth in national money
$53,584
State rank
42
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Kentucky is among the lower-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $60,090, ranking 42 of 51 states — about 4.45% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. This job ranks 209 among 491 occupations Kentucky publishes pay for.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $60,090 you keep $48,477 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $53,584 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $63,480, since top earners drag the number up.
- Kentucky ranks 42 of 51 for first-line supervisors of transportation and material moving workers, except aircraft cargo handling, with a median of $60,090 — about 4.45% below the national figure. A nominal shortfall is not by itself a real one: lower-paying states frequently carry lower tax and lower price levels, and the adjusted figures below are where that is settled rather than assumed.
- Position 209 of 491 in Kentucky places first-line supervisors of transportation and material moving workers, except aircraft cargo handling in the middle of the state's wage distribution. Because within-state and cross-state rankings measure different things, this figure and the national one above should be read together rather than as a single verdict.
- Retained pay in Kentucky is $48,477 after the full tax stack, from $60,090. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $53,584 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $63,480 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: First-Line Supervisors of Transportation and Material Moving Workers, Except Aircraft Cargo Handling
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $43,780 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $60,090 |
| Top tenth earn over | $90,330 |
| This salary | $60,090 |
Positions between the published tenth, quarter, half, three-quarter and ninetieth points are estimated by straight line.
The same pay, somewhere else
The state median for this job
| Take-home in Kentucky | $48,477 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $50,462 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,655 |
The raise and the real gain point in opposite directions here.
State income tax and state price levels only. No city income tax, and no housing market.
What you would need there
The state median for this job
| To match take-home only | $57,619 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,002 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- A median is the middle, not an offer. Half of first-line supervisors of transportation and material moving workers, except aircraft cargo handling in Kentucky earn under $60,090 and half over. The published range runs $43,780 at the tenth percentile to $90,330 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Kentucky's $48,477, worked from $60,090. That is on purpose. It lets states be compared with each other, not with each other's family circumstances. Local city taxes are left out. Locally this work ranks 209 of 491.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $53,584 uses one figure for the whole of Kentucky. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 491 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 209.
- Figures are distribution medians for first-line supervisors of transportation and material moving workers, except aircraft cargo handling in Kentucky, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $43,780 to $90,330; within-state dispersion of that width routinely exceeds the dispersion between states, so tenure, employer and metropolitan area predict an individual's pay better than geography does.
- The Kentucky take-home of $48,477, on $60,090 for work ranking 209 of 491 locally, models the simplest household deliberately: holding it constant is what makes the interstate comparison meaningful. It also means the absolute figure overstates liability for most real filers, and municipal income taxes are outside the model entirely. The occupation ranks 209 of 491 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $53,584, worked from $60,090, deflates by a statewide parity that conceals substantial intra-state variation, concentrated in housing — so it supports comparison between states rather than the pricing of a move to a particular Kentucky address, on work sitting at 209 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
No — it is the middle. Half of these workers earn more and half earn less. The average is $63,480, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $43,780 and the top tenth $90,330 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Kentucky sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $53,584 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; Kentucky then takes its own share, leaving $48,477.
Can I compare this job across every state?
Yes for this one. Pay is published in all 51 jurisdictions, so a state-to-state comparison here rests on the same survey everywhere rather than on a patchwork.
How does the published median differ from the mean for this occupation?
The median is the midpoint of the distribution; the mean for this occupation in Kentucky is $63,480. Wage distributions are right-skewed, so the mean exceeds the median wherever a minority earn substantially more. BLS publishes both because substituting one for the other misstates a typical worker's pay.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($43,780) and the ninetieth ($90,330) exceeds the family median dispersion. SOC codes aggregate roles differing in seniority, industry and specialisation, and BLS does not disaggregate below the detailed occupation level, so within-title variance is not separable from the published series.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Kentucky's regional price parity is at or below the national average, so nominal wages understate purchasing power. Take-home deflated by the state price level is $53,584 in national-average terms. The adjustment uses an all-items index and does not isolate housing.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $48,477 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Kentucky income tax for a single filer with no adjustments. The state layer is levied in addition to the federal one; only its rate and base differ between states.
Is this occupation's state coverage complete?
State-level estimates are published for all 51 jurisdictions for this occupation, so cross-state comparison is not confounded by suppression. ⚠️ Estimates remain survey-based and carry sampling error; small differences between adjacent states should not be over-read.